Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), and Mark Carr, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, have been appointed to the California Ocean Protection Council's Science Advisory Team.
The Ocean Protection Council (OPC), chaired by state resources secretary Mike Chrisman, helps coordinate and improve the protection and management of California's ocean and coastal resources. It was established under the California Ocean Protection Act of 2004.
The membership of the Science Advisory Team was approved at a public meeting of the OPC in February. The 25-member team of scientists will provide the OPC with expert review, advice, and synthesis of scientific knowledge. The advisory team is charged with ensuring that the best available science is accessible to the OPC members and staff when they are considering policy decisions.
"The Council is a very proactive group that allocates bond funding for efforts directed towards the problems and management of California's coastal ocean, and it is also active in setting ocean policy for the state," Griggs said.
A professor of Earth and planetary sciences, Griggs has directed the IMS since 1991 and has served as chair of the UC Marine Council since its inception in 1999. He also serves on the California Sea Grant Advisory Board. His research and teaching focus on the coast of California, including coastal processes, hazards, and coastal engineering. He has written over 145 articles for professional journals and coauthored several books.
Carr studies reef fishes, shallow reef ecosystems (coral reefs and kelp forests), and marine conservation and management. He is a principal investigator with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), overseeing a large-scale, long-term kelp forest monitoring program along central California. He is the cochair of the Science Advisory Team to California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), enacted to establish a statewide network of marine protected areas. He currently oversees the monitoring of protected areas established along the central California coast. Carr and his colleagues conduct collaborative research with coastal fishermen, and he sits on the board of directors of the Pacific Marine Conservation Council (PMCC), an organization that promotes community-based, sustainable fisheries along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.
